Download Weekly Bulletin (PDF File)

1 February 2015
Welcome to St John’s
Welcome to St John’s especially if you are visiting with us today. We’d love to
keep in touch with you, so if you leave us your details we’ll let you know
what’s happening here at St John’s.
As we begin 2015, we are focusing on our mission here in Darlinghurst. Today
we are thinking about what it means to be ‘A people of freedom’. Next week
we will be looking at being ‘a presence of blessing’.
Community Central is Back!
Community Central is the way we do small groups at
St Johns. Every second Tuesday night we meet at
6.30pm for dinner, then break up into small groups to
study the Bible and pray. If you haven't been in a
Community Central group before, now is a fantastic
time to join!
Community Central restarts on this Tuesday February
3 at 6.30pm. Its one of the best ways to really grow in your relationship with
Jesus, and with other people at St John’s. So come along on Tuesday– you will
be very welcome.
Young Adults Community Group
We are very excited to announce the start of The Young Adults Community
Group in 2015. This involves people aged 18 to 30-something meeting every
alternate Tuesday (opposite of Community Central) in the church hall, having
dinner as a group and then studying the bible together.
If you're a young adult and would like to come along please let Evan know.
When: Every second Tuesday night at 6.30pm starting on February 10. Cost:
$5 to cover dinner
A New Congregation at St John’s
In 2015, we have some exciting plans at St John’s.
Messy Church has been successful in reaching out to
families and children in our area. We’d like to build upon that success, by creating a new 9.30 congregation.
This new congregation will be a little more like regular
church than Messy Church, but more contemporary
and informal than 11am. Messy Church will continue to be on the first Sunday
in the month, and the new congregation will meet in the hall on the other
Sundays in the month. It will include a children’s programme.
But you don’t just start something like this overnight! It needs a lot of thought,
and a lot of planning and especially a lot of prayer. So here is the plan. On
Sunday February 8, we are inviting people to meet together to start to pray
about our new congregation. We will continue to meet on the Sundays after
that, to keep praying. And this is where you come in.
I would like to extend an invitation to you to join with us to pray about this
very important new venture at St John’s. Coming to pray doesn't commit you
to anything. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to join this congregation. We
simply need to pray about this.
On the other hand, starting to meet in this way would be an excellent way to
start to get involved with this new venture.
So consider coming along on Sunday February 8 at 9.30am to the upstairs
lounge in the hall. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to be part of a
new movement of God in our church!
Whole Church Weekend Away
Our annual whole church weekend away in on from
Friday evening March 20 to Sunday afternoon March
22. And once again we are at the delightful Stanwell
Tops Conference Centre. Application forms will be
ready soon, but at this stage just make sure you put
the dates in your diary so that you are free for the whole weekend.This year
our focus will be on the mission of our church at St John’s. These weekends
have been fun, exciting, encouraging and energising, so don’t miss out!
Waiting on the Spirit
“ I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better” (Ephesians
1:17) Each month we gather together to wait upon
God’s Spirit, that he might guide us in prayer and that
we might minister to one another. Our next Prayer
and Ministry night will be on Wednesday March 11, 7.30pm.
The Music Project & Choral Evensongs
Choral Evensongs will no longer be taking place at St John’s.
The Memorandum of Understanding between the Music Project and St John’s
expires in the middle of 2015. Late last year the Parish Council decided to conduct a review of the Music Project’s activities, in order to see if the original
goals and objectives had been met. The plan was to make a decision about
whether the Music Project activities would continue at St John’s based on that
review.
However the Music Project have opted to discontinue their association with St
Johns, effective immediately. We wish them all the very best in their future endeavours.
A new role for Jennifer
Jennifer Coleby has been part of St John’s all her life! Last year Jennifer completed her HSC. In 2015 she has been accepted into the Anglican Youthworks
Year 13 programme. This is a youth intern programme, which means Jennifer
will spend part of the week studying at the Youthworks College near Sutherland, and part of the week doing youth and children’s ministry at St John’s.
This is a real blessing as we continue our outreach to children and families
through our new 9.30 congregation. Remember to pray for Jennifer as she
embarks on an exciting year!
Rough Edges Reopening
Rough Edges reopens on Wednesday 4th February, in the day and the night.
Lighting grant
We have been successful in our application for a Community Building Partnership Grant. We have received $20,000 to install lighting in the car park..
St Johns has been incredibly blessed through these grants in the past as well. It
is through this scheme that we have redeveloped the car park, installed the accessibility toilet in the hall, installed a new kitchen in Rough Edges and installed a new kitchen in the hall.
Romans 6:15-7:6
15
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?
By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone
as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are
slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you
have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now
claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become
slaves to righteousness.
19
I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations.
Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to everincreasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control
of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you
are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have
been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap
leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who
know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that
person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband
as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that
binds her to him. 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while
her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she
is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.
4
So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of
Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the
dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the
realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in
us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us,
we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the
Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.
WORLD NEWS
NIGER: Over 70 church buildings destroyed in “anti-Charlie”
protests
23rd January, 2015
The Christian community in Niger is in shock after a weekend of violent protests led to
the death of ten people and the destruction of scores of church buildings and Christian
homes.
Anti-Christian rioting erupted in Niger's second largest city, Zinder, on Friday 16 January
and spread quickly to the capital, Niamey, as Islamists expressed their rage over the depiction of Mohammed on the cover of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Associating
Christians with the publication, the rioters attacked over 70 church buildings, despite the
fact that Charlie Hebdo is not a Christian magazine, and routinely offends Christians too.
The protest started in Zinder, in the southeast, on Friday 16 January and quickly spread to
surrounding areas and to Niamey. Police said that 45 churches had been burned down in
the two days of violence, but information gathered by World Watch Monitor revealed that
more than 70 churches had been destroyed, along with numerous Christian schools and
other buildings, including the Good Samaritan Orphanage run by the Assembly of God
Church. The 40 children from the orphanage are under the care of police.
It is thought that over 30 Christian homes were looted and burnt down, and many Christians lost everything they owned. Pastor Zakaria Jadi, whose church building was destroyed, told the BBC that he was meeting with the elders when he heard about the attacks: "I just rushed and told my colleagues in the church to take their families away from the
place. I took my family out from the place...When I came back, I just discovered that everything
has gone.There's nothing in my house and also nothing in the church."
A former French colony, Niger is 97% Muslim, and has only about 50,000 Christians. It is
constitutionally secular and has been known for peaceful coexistence between the Muslim
majority and the tiny Christian minority, although tension has increased in recent years
due to the rise of Islamist groups and the violence in neighbouring Nigeria.
The images show three churches in Niamey that were damaged on 17 January: an unnamed Baptist church; Bethel Church; and Celpa Church.
Protests spread
In Zinder, eight churches and twelve Christian homes were set on fire, and two Christian
schools were attacked and ransacked. About 300 Christians took refuge in police stations,
army barracks and the homes of Muslim friends. Some have been able to return to their
homes. The bodies of at least five Christians were later found in burnt-out churches.
Protests quickly spread to other towns in the Zinder region. "In Gouré the town's only
church is on fire," a witness reported. All Christian homes were burned and all the Christians were taken into the military barracks for protection.
In Tanout, the protesters burned down two churches, while in Magaria they destroyed one
church. In Maradi, another of Niger's main towns, close to the Nigeria border, two
churches were burned down, while 200 km away a small Fulani church in Bermo village
was attacked and burned down. Local sources said the prompt reaction of the security
forces helped to limit the destruction.
In Birnin Gaouré, about 100 km from Niamey, three churches were set on fire and a missionary school was attacked. In Agadez, in the north, there was an unsuccessful attempt
on the church.
The violence spread to Niamey, as a large crowd of about 1,000 angry Muslims gathered
outside the main mosque before marching across the city and setting several public buildings and properties on fire. Security forces fired tear gas in an attempt to restore order,
but the rioters were out of control, and small groups went on to attack Christians across
the capital.
On Sunday 18 January the situation in Niamey was calmer, but the bells of the Catholic
Cathedral remained silent, though troops had protected it from the violence of the previous day. Most Christians did not feel safe to return home.
Reaction
President Mahamadou Issoufou declared three days of mourning for the victims, and in a
television address on 17 January he condemned the violence and expressed surprise:
"What have the Christians of Niger done to deserve this? Where have they wronged you? Those
who plunder those places of worship, those who desecrate them, those who persecute and kill
their Christian compatriots, or foreigners living on the soil of our country, did not understand anything about Islam." Several Muslim clerics also condemned the violence.
Local pastor Sani Nomao, in an interview on the BBC Hausa Service, called on Christians
in Niger to respond with the love of Christ: "I call on every single believer in Niger to forgive
and forget, to love Muslims with all their heart, to keep up the faith, to love Christ like never before. Although it is painful, and what we are experiencing is really difficult, we are God's children.
We must love our persecutors... Let no one seek revenge."
Various sources reported a lack of reaction from the security forces, leaving Christians
and their properties easy targets for protesters and looters.
Elsewhere in Africa
Muslims in several other African countries protested against the Charlie Hebdo publication.
In Khartoum, capital of Sudan, after Friday prayers police prevented hundreds of protesters from reaching the French Embassy and the French Cultural Centre to submit a memo
to the French Ambassador.
In the Somali capital, Mogadishu, students marched on Saturday 17 January holding signs
that declared, "Je suis Muslim – and I love my Prophet".
In Algeria, a peaceful protest march ended in a riot, with police firing riot pellets at small
groups of protesters who threw rocks and bottles. Several police were injured.
In Kenya, the issue of press regulation and control has been brought into the spotlight.
The Bloomberg news agency reported that the Media Council of Kenya threatened to
close a Nairobi newspaper for publishing offensive materials after it reprinted the cover
of Charlie Hebdo, prompting complaints by Muslim readers. The Star ran an apology and
pledged to be more sensitive toward "Muslim sensibilities".
(Global Guide, Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin, World Watch Monitor)
Supporting St John’s
Support the ministry here by setting up a Direct Deposit with your bank to
Westpac Bank:
St John’s Anglican Church
BSB 032-032 Account Number 811-496
Weekly Offertories
Budget 2014
Actual
Surplus (Deficit)
24, 25, 28 Dec
$1,635
$2,068
$433
28th Dec YTD
$85,020
$69,372
($15,648)
Rosters
11.00 Service
1st February
8th February
Celebrant
Ed Vaughan
Ed Vaughan
Deacon
Bill Knight
Mark Woodhouse
Communion Assistant
Chris Bertinshaw
Jenny Coleby
Mark Woodhouse
Chris Bertinshaw
Speaker
Ed Vaughan
Ed Vaughan
Reader One
Chris Bertinshaw
Kylie Sheriff
Prayers
Bill Knight
Mark Woodhouse
Warden
Chris Bertinshaw
Chris Bertinshaw
Welcomers
Jenny Coleby
Jennifer Coleby
Joanna Knight
Ian Coleby
Morning Tea
Joanna Knight
Renie Roberts
Laurie Alexander
Mari Vendrame
We acknowledge the Gadigal
people of the Eora nation,
the traditional custodians
of the land on which we meet.
Our Sunday services
11am Communion - A classic Anglican service
6pm - Contemporary Worship
Messy Church - 9.30am on the first Sunday each month
Getting in touch
St John’s Darlinghurst
120 Darlinghurst Rd., Darlinghurst NSW 2010
PO Box 465 Kings Cross 1340
Parish Office Tel: 9360 6844
Email: [email protected]